Discipleship University

Burning Bush — The Core Curriculum of Discipleship University

Built around the dramatic appearance of God to Moses in the Exodus story, the core curriculum of DU is known as Burning Bush. The curriculum is designed for congregational teams, and will focus on developing congregational plans for making disciples through five units over two years. Burning Bush will focus on:

• building congregational identity and purpose
• worship and spiritual practices
• hospitality and faith-sharing
• reconciliation and justice
• service and mission

Through Burning Bush, congregational teams will deepen their relationship with God in Jesus Christ, living out a new awareness of God’s extravagant grace. These teams will develop effective spiritual leadership for their congregations, learning effective ways to equip people of all ages for the ministry of the church. Teams will return to their congregations with a comprehensive plan for discipleship. These highly interactive units will develop effective spiritual leadership in congregations as teams focus on developing congregational identity, clarifying discipleship in their context, and planning worship, spiritual formation, evangelism, Christian education, stewardship, and service that form Christian faith and discipleship.

Participants

Participating congregations will include three to five people, with at least one ordained team member and at least one lay team member. Each Burning Bush group will be comprised of ten to fifteen teams. Criteria for participating congregational teams will be determined in partnership with the sponsoring leadership (GBOD staff, annual conference staff, district superintendents, and so forth).

Dates and Locations

GBOD will partner with districts, clusters, and annual conferences to offer Burning Bush in Nashville or on-site in a district or conference. To explore this partnership, please contact Carol F. Krau at ckrau@gbod.org. If you want to participate in Burning Bush in your location, please contact your district superintendent or director of connectional ministries to discuss a partnership with GBOD. You may also check this web site periodically for dates related to Burning Bush groups starting in Nashville.

Cost

The costs of sponsoring a Burning Bush group in your area are negotiated with GBOD staff. Specific budgeting information can be obtained by contacting Carol F. Krau at ckrau@gbod.org.

Application

Applications for participation in a Burning Bush group in your area will be solicited by GBOD staff and the sponsoring leadership. When a Burning Bush group is held in Nashville, this web site will include a link to the Application form and information about the application deadline.

Current Partnerships

North Texas Annual Conference—Burning Bush begins August 13-15, 2010
For more information, contact Rev. Liz Moen at moen@ntcumc.org.

Sign Up to Receive Burning Bush Updates

If you would like to be notified when new Burning Bush groups are starting or new information about applying to participate in a Burning Bush group is posted, sign up by filling out the following form: